What's been happening lately ...

Boy, a lot has happened recently. I think I'll tell our events by person:

* Jackson: He is 22 months old, but recently "turned two" (as in "The Trying Two's"). His least favorite things to do are (1) standing in time-out, and taking a nap. Jackson's favorite activities include: eating, climbing the stairs, and climbing onto our pub-height dining room chair. He is beginning to speak with words, including: Mama, Dada, Goggog (Doggie), Didi (Lydia), bup (cup), and no.

* Lydia: She is almost-5-years-old (in July), and is enjoying the last 2.5 months of preschool. Her favorite things include: playing with "Connie, Gaby & Ava" at PreK; getting the mail; hugging her brother; helping in the kitchen; dancing; "doing" Mommy's hair. She is learning how to do some chores around the apt, including folding & putting her laundry away; unloading the dishwasher silverware, etc. Lydia earns a small allowance, and enjoys "spending her monies".

* Lennon: Of course, he still works second-shift, roasting coffee at Starbucks. However, we recently learned that he needs an MBA in order to obtain the job that he desires within Starbucks' Social Responsibility department. So ... hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to school he goes. About 1 month ago, he began online class to earn his Associate's in business administration in 19 months. Then he will continue on to earn his Bachelor's in another 19 months, with his Master's to follow a few years later.

* Diana: Back in January, my then-current job couldn't provide me with consistent hours, which led us to believe that I should look for another job. During my unfruitful, two-week job search, I stopped by our tax guy's office to find out what we needed for our tax appt. While I was there, I casually asked if they (or anyone they knew) was hiring; they replied that they weren't. However, 15 minutes later, they called to ask me to come back; they needed to hire me as a receptionist for tax season. I began the next day; the following week, my boss asked if I would stay on as a payroll specialist, after tax season ended. I agreed, and last week, I began online payroll school, courtesy of my company. God has truly blessed us with this job. Now that tax season is over (Hooray!), I will be working 3 mornings per week - much better than the 4-5 mornings I was doing.

* Lastly, we were almost DEBT-FREE! As of this month, we will pay off our moving debt that has loomed over us for 20 months. However, we had to take out a loan to pay for Lennon's schooling. Perhaps not the best idea, but we couldn't figure out another way to quickly get Lennon into school & (eventually) increase our income. So, 1 huge victory in our finances, and another giant to quickly take down.

Whew! So that's what's new with us, as of late.